Friday, August 29, 2008

I am sitting at my desk at work yesterday afternoon and the administrator to the president of my division pops into my cubicle. She is relatively new, maybe on the job for three months, so we hardly know each other. She is checking out my face and says something like, "I wanted to see what you look like."

I am very puzzled and then she drops the other shoe: she heard I did drag on Halloween and wanted to see what I looked like en homme. Satisfied, she left my cubicle.

I went to work en femme for a Halloween contest back in 2003. I was surprised that five years later, people are still talking about it.

I was curious, so later in the afternoon, I visited her to find out who spilled the beans.

It seems she was in a meeting and joked that the company should have a cross-gender day where all the women come in dressed like men and all the men come in dressed as women. Someone else in the meeting, who has been with the company awhile, chimed in about how well I did drag.

She asked me what I wore and I told her about my pinstripe suit and auburn wig (see photo). Then, I told her I would e-mail her a photo. So I went back to my cubicle and e-mailed her a photo.

She responded that I looked very good, had good taste, and maybe I could do it again if the company decides to have another Halloween event.

I responded that I might wear a costume on Halloween whether there was a special Halloween event or not.

After Barack Obama's very excellent acceptance speech last night, his wife and children joined him on stage and I noticed that Michelle Obama was wearing flats (and a beautiful dress). I also noticed that even in flats, she was almost as tall as her husband. So, I looked her up and discovered that she is a statuesque 5' 11" tall.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I have received nothing but rave reviews concerning my choice of evening gown for Fantasia Fair (thank you all for your comments) and I am on the verge of ordering the gown as soon as I hear back from the seller.

I e-mailed the seller about the gown's length. Since I am 5' 14" tall, I want to be sure that the gown is long enough. So, keep your fingers crossed that it is indeed long enough.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

I will be going for the whole fair, i.e., Sunday evening to the following Sunday morning, so I will be en femme 24/7 for 7 straight days (maybe "straight" is not the correct word, but you know what I mean).

Needless to say, I am very excited about it and the Fair has been on my mind all the time ever since I decided to go.

Yesterday, I started compiling a list of things to bring to the Fair. First, I listed the events at the Fair that I will likely attend (all of them, of course) and then I made notes of what I will wear to each event.

I had no problem coming up with enough outfits to wear, but I am not sure what to wear to the Saturday night "Gala Awards Banquet." I have a couple of knock-out cocktail dresses that I have worn in the past to my support group's annual banquet and they will be more than adequate, but I'd really like to wear something new and more formal (longer) than a cocktail dress, i.e., an "evening gown."

So, I am gown shopping. I started my search by browsing the various Web sites where I normally shop and a few where I have never shopped, but I found nothing that floated my boat; nothing that cried out "Staci, I am so you!" So, my search continues.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

During the interview, the Mila mentioned that as a young pre-op transwoman, she was mortified whenever she had to remove her top to go swimming or participate in other activities in which males were expected to go shirtless because in her mind, she was female and going topless was not something females did in public. During such occurrences, she would try to cover up with a towel in order to feel less embarrassed.

When I was young, I experienced something similar whenever I was expected to be shirtless because I have boobs. I don't know if my breast development was the result of being overweight, hormone imbalance, Gynecomastia, or a combination of some or all of the above. Whatever... I have boobs that nearly fill a B cup bra.

In my youth, my breasts embarrassed me; I would notice people checking out my breasts and occasionally, I would hear hurtful comments like "He should wear a bra?" As I grew older, I began avoiding situations where I had to go shirtless and as an adult, I am never in a public situation without a shirt.

On the other hand, I am very happy with natural breasts when I am en femme and I seldom have to wear anything in my bra to augment my bust. The only time I stuff my bra is when I wear a low-cut top or dress and want to display some cleavage (as in the accompanying photo). To achieve cleavage, I tape my breasts together, but by doing so, my bra cups are only half-filled, so I use stuffing to fill out the cups. But normally, the only thing in my bra is me.

Admittedly, my breasts are small for a woman my size, but they are all mine and they feel as natural as can be. And my breasts are no longer an embarrassment; they have become an asset.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

I'm going to Fantasia Fair (or "Disney World for Crossdressers," as I like to think of it).

Fantasia Fair (FanFair for short) is an annual week-long mid-October event (October 19-26 this year)in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where the boys are girls and the girls are boys and all the transfolk have the run of the town presenting themselves in their gender of choice 24/7.

I have many friends and acquaintances who have attended FanFair in the past and they have nothing but great things to say about their experience. They have urged me to go, but until now, I have been unable to do so.

Presenting as a woman 24/7 for a week will be a new experience. I have done three-day events in the past, but not a week-long event, so this will be more of a real life test for me!

Anyway, I am thrilled that I will be able to go this year. And I wonder how the experience will effect me.

"I'm planning to talk to saleswomen and ask to try clothes on next time I go. I've wanted to but never done it so far.

"Is a dress better than a skirt/blouse? If I'm wearing the latter and I want to try on a dress, I have to remove both and there May Be Many Buttons. If I wear the former, I need to find a top to go with a bottom, or vice-versa when I want to try one on, and if the dress goes over my head my wig could get out-of-sorts (also with a pullover top, hence the worry about buttons.

"How about sharing your experiences?"

I'll gladly share my experience, Meg.

When I go shopping and plan to try clothes on in the store, I wear something that is easy to take off and put on, so usually a dress without a lot of buttons. Also, something that has a wide collar so as not to muss up my hair and makeup when I pull it off and on (so avoid anything with a turtleneck).

The best thing I ever wore shopping was a dress that had a zipper up front that zipped from the neckline to the hemline of the dress. I could get in and out of that dress quick like a bunny.

Also, to minimize changing back into the outfit you wore into the store, take as many outfits as the store allows to the dressing room. Or shop in a store where there is personalized service with a salesperson at your beck and call to fetch outfits for you while you are in the dressing room.

If you are shopping for a skirt to match a top or vice versa, then that is a different story and you will want to wear whatever you are trying to match, unless it is so generic that you can find something in the store to use for matching.

On the other hand, if you are just skirt shopping, for example, wear an easy on-and-off dress. When you find the skirts you want to try on, grab a top, too, so that you will have something to model with the skirts. Of course, you don't have to purchase the top, but then you might find one that goes so nicely with the skirt you are buying that you will just have to buy the top, too!

I hope that helps!

Occasionally, I receive e-mails asking for advice. Often, the writers of these e-mails indicate that they are hesitant about writing to me for advice because they don't want to bother me.

On the contrary, I love receiving e-mails asking for advice. My maternal side loves to help others if she can, so please feel free to ask. Maybe I can help you and maybe you will help me by expanding my knowledge of the transworld. And maybe our e-mail exchange will inspire me to write an interesting blog posting (like this one).

After work, I went to the mall to see if Payless had any of the new shoes I was pining for. My timing was great because on Friday was the first day of Payless' frequent Bogo sales (buy one, get one half off).

Nothing gets hands-on service faster than when a 6' 2" guy walks into Payless and heads down the aisle where the woman's size 10-12 shoes are stationed. The saleswoman who greeted me as I walked in almost immediately made a bee-line for me and asked if I needed any help.

I asked her about the new shoes I saw online and she indicated that they were on display at the front of the store. I told her "I do drag" and my size. She had all three pairs, but only two in my size: the American Eagle Latte Mary Jane and the Koko Gilley Pump.

I asked the saleswoman if any of the surrounding Payless stores had the Haste Patent Oxford Pump in my size. She recommended that because of the shoe's design that I look for that shoe one size larger. She went online to check the other nearby stores, but they did not have it in stock.

I bought the two that they had in stock and continued shopping around the mall. The sad state of the economy was really apparent. It was Friday afternoon and the mall was dead despite the fact that it was prime back-to-school shopping time.

On a positive note, as soon as I walked into a store, I usually had an attentive salesperson at my beck and call. Window-shopping, I saw a cute outfit on display, so I went in the store and a saleswoman asked to be of assistance. I was unfamiliar with the store's clothing line, so I asked her how large did their sizes go up to.

She said "14," then asked, "What size does she wear?"

I replied, "I wear 16s or 18s depending on the style of clothing."

Without batting an eye, she said that the store was opening an online store real soon now with sizes going up to 18 and that I should check it out.

I thanked her and went on my way.

I continued shopping, but did not see anything I had to have, so I exited the mall with my new shoes in bag.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Every day of the week, I get an e-mail from Spiegel touting their sale du jour.

I like Spiegel's clothing and have bought a few items from them in the past, but most of the time I don't buy anything because they are expensive.

Today's e-mail from Spiegel announced a clearance sale, so I dutifully checked out what they had on sale and I found the pictured jacket and skirt that I had died for in the past on sale and in my size!

Originally, they cost $79 and $39 respectively, but on clearance, they were $13.99 and $6.99, so how could I resist! In addition, I got 20% off my order by signing up for a Spiegel credit card. So, what would have cost me (with shipping and handling) $126.94 back when I was dying for it, now cost me only $25.72!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

I love shoes and I own too many pairs, but I can't resist them. My favorite shoe store du jour has three new models for the fall season that are calling my name. (Click on the photo to make them bigger.)

Koko Gilley Pump — "Make a bold fashion statement with this retro-inspired pump. It features a faux suede upper with a peep toe and a 4" patent stiletto heel. The shoelace tie gives it a trend-right oxford feel. Fabric and manmade materials."

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Catherine Price writes here that "Maybe a time will come when one of my oldest fashion grievances -- that it's OK for women to wear pants, but demeaning for a man to wear 'female' clothing -- will be laid to rest."

Saturday, August 9, 2008

I visited the town library yesterday to look at the books they had on dream analysis trying to find references to dreams about crossdressing. There were about a half dozen books and I looked through them all.

One book devoted one paragraph to the subject and was not very revealing. In a nutshell, the book indicated that if you dreamed about crossdressing, then you may have gender issues!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

I am on vacation and it is a dank and dreary day today, so I am spending some time blogging because going out is not too inviting.

I went to the Mohegan Sun casino yesterday. I had a good time. I have a better time when I win, but even when I lose or break even, it is interesting.

I like to watch the people in the casino. I have been thinking about going to the casino en femme one day this fall, so I made mental notes concerning the wardrobes of the female patrons. If you see an ad for the casino on television or visit the casino's Web site, all the women are dressed to the nines. Maybe that is the case on a Friday or Saturday night, but not on a weekday. I estimate that 95% of the female patrons wore slacks, trousers, jeans, or shorts; about 5% wore skirts. The only dresses I saw were on women, who work at the casino.

I ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant at the casino: SolToro Tequila Grill. The meal was excellent, but it did not do much good for my diet!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Mary-Louise Parker was a guest on Letterman last night. I stayed up just to watch her appearance. As luck would have it, she was the last guest and did not appear until well after midnight.

She was worth the wait!

Unlike some guests who appear on Letterman and Leno as if they just came in from slopping the pigs, i.e., wearing jeans, the 5' 8" tall Ms. Parker was dressed to the nines in a short red satin dress, black pantyhose or tights, and black patent Mary Jane heels (not the outfit as in the photo to the right).

She looked classy!

I loved her outfit and could see myself in something similar, if not identical.